A Restless Night

A
year ago I was unable to fall asleep, I was tossing and turning and
could not understand how I was still awake, falling asleep has never
been an issue for me. I sat up in frustration over the situation and
picked up my phone in hopes of finding a podcast I could fall asleep
to. As soon as I picked up my phone I received a call from my best
friend. In this day and age receiving a phone call is strange but I
decided to pick up. She had gotten in a car accident. She was stopped
at a red light and a car traveling towards her was driven by a man
asleep at the wheel, luckily she survived with generally minor
injuries because of the angle he hit the car but her car was totaled.
Had I not checked my phone or had I fallen asleep easily that night I
never would have received the call. I immediately texted her mother
and went to the hospital with them. Drivers ed helps to make
students, especially new drivers, to be aware of the dangers on the
road; as well as how they themselves can prevent the cause of
accidents. Checking a notification on your phone or driving late at
night despite how tired you are could change the lives of so many,
not just yourself and the person involved. While you cannot be
control in of other’s driving you are fully responsible for your
own, and if everyone in the world had this mindset then bad drivers
and accidents would diminish greatly. The only person you can trust
on the road is yourself. There are situations that people cannot
control such as the car malfunctioning, however as a driver you
should consistently be focused on the road and the cars around you,
limiting conversation in the car or other “quick” distractions is
essential to a safer drive. While some distractions will only result
in one or two seconds elsewhere those few seconds can result in the
death of yourself or someone else. Complete concentration however, is
easier said than done. A mother of young children, for example, may
need to attend to a child or will receive many distractions from the
children in general. Quite honestly, I don’t know how to fix a
situation as such, one can say to have another adult in the vehicle
to handle the children but there may not be another adult available.
I would say that the safest option would be to hire a babysitter if
one can afford one. Practicing concentration and explaining to the
child the importance of not distracting the driver is the most secure
way to ensure a successful and safe drive.